Eriocnemis lugens (Hoary Puffleg).

From A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds, 6 vols., large folio. Published in London, 1849–1887. Printed by Hullmandel and Walter from drawings by J. Gould, H. C. Richter, and William Hart, lithographed by the artists.

The Hoary Puffleg is a high-Andean hummingbird distinguished by its deep green and bronze plumage, contrasted with the fluffy white “puffs of feathers adorning its legs—features that give the species both its name and singular charm. In Gould’s hand-colored lithograph, the bird is shown perched amid mountain flora, the metallic pigments used to recreate the soft sheen of its plumage and the cool light of its alpine surroundings. The artist’s sensitive rendering emphasizes the compact, sturdy form of a bird perfectly adapted to the thin air and chill of its native slopes.

John Gould’s Monograph of the Trochilidae remains one of the masterpieces of Victorian ornithological art. Created over nearly forty years, the series combined Gould’s expertise as a naturalist with the refined technique of Henry Constantine Richter and William Hart. The Hoary Puffleg plate exemplifies their shared devotion to detail and aesthetic harmony, preserving both the scientific accuracy and quiet beauty of one of the Andes’ most charming hummingbirds.